Who didn’t hear about athletes that went from playing sport to playing in movies? Just like Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, who was an amazing professional wrestler – the best of all time before he became an actor. So is Rhonda Rousey both an MMA fighter and a champion wrestler, who also appeared onscreen.
But there are many other celebrities that were great athletes. Some of them even compete today, while others just recall those times. For many of these celebrities, they believe that the discipline from their sport helped them succeed in Hollywood.
Here are some of the most famous people that were once star athletes. Can you believe this guy at #12 was a wrestler?

20. Elsa Hosk: Basketball

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The Victoria’s Secret Angel played basketball in the professional league in Sweden. She even took a two-year break from modeling because she was a basketball player. She said it was very tough and that they had to work out about eight times per week and in the weekend they had games, but she decided she “wanted to explore the world and meet people and not be tied down.”

19. Malcom Gladwell: Long-Distance Running

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Malcom Gladwell is known as a bestselling author, but before that he was a star runner. He doesn’t race anymore, but he still considers himself addicted to running. In an interview with the Runners World, he said that the likes that running is free from owners, teams or rules, and that the fact it’s international is “fantastic and rare.” Here’s another celebrity that participated in a marathon…

18. Pippa Middleton: Long-Distance Running

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Pippa Middleton is into sports and she even finished the Safaricom 26.2-mile long marathon in Kenya in less than four hours. She also cycled 54 miles from London to Brighton for British Heart Foundation. She said that participating in a marathon was a “life box” she needed to tick. The conditions were tough – there were over 30 degrees Celsius, the altitude was of 5,550 feet and the runners might have et lions or rhinos!

17. Mahershala Ali: Basketball

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Mahershala Ali was a player in the basketball team from Saint Mary's College of California. He was on a scholarship there, but said that soon after, he lost his enthusiasm for the sport by the time his graduation came: “Honestly, I kind of resented basketball by the end of my time there,” adding that he was even threatened to be sent off to another university.

16. Ed O’Neill: Football

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Believe it or not, but the famous Al Bundy from ‘Married… With Children’ and Jay Pritchett from Modern Family was on a football scholarship at the Ohio State University. He had a complicated time in his sophomore year and didn’t get with the coach. His low grades and hard partying were also part of that, but he did get his degree and even played at Youngstown State University.

15. Channing Tatum: Football

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Just like O’Neill, Tatum went on a football scholarship at Glenville State College. However, he was the high school football team captain. In an interview with the Vanity Fair, he said he loved martial arts more than football. He dropped out from the college and went back to his hometown. He started his career as an exotic dancer, then as a model and actor.

14. Jason Statham: Diving

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Before he became an action star, Statham was a great diver. He was part of the British national team Commonwealth Games in New Zealand, back in 1990. He said that as a child, he was with his family during a vacation and “there was a guy who used to do a high dive, at noon every day, from one of the hotels that we stayed in.” He then decided he will do that as soon as they went back home.

13. Terry Crews: Football

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Terry Crews is an amazing comedian and actor. He loves to work out, but when he was younger, he even played football for the Washington Redskins, and for Western Michigan University – which led the team to a MAC championship (1988). He was also an NFL defensive end and linebacker for the Los Angeles Rams and San Diego Chargers!

12. Chris Pratt: Wrestling

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Believe it or not, but Guardians of the Galaxy’s Star Lord was quite an athlete when young. Chris Pratt was a star wrestler when he was in high school - he placed fifth in a state competition when he was in his senior year. When his coach asked him what he wanted to do in his life, Chris recalls he said: "'I don't know, but I know I'll be famous…”

11. George Clooney: Baseball

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“I really thought, my whole life, trying out, that I was going to be a professional baseball player,” Clooney said in an interview. He was an elite player in high school and he even tried out for the Cincinnati Reds in 1977, but he wasn’t chosen. Nonetheless, he still loves to play from time to time, for old times’ sake.

10. Hugh Jackman: Rugby

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Jackman grew up in Australia and rugby was his favorite sport. He played rugby and allowed him to control his rage. Later, the sport has been an inspiration for his iconic character, he said in an interview with people in 2015: “In playing rugby my rage would come out, rage that I identify as Wolverine rage. I’d be somewhere in a ruck in rugby, get punched in the face and I’d just go into a white rage.”

9. Kate Middleton: Field Hockey

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Kate loves sports, and not only she played field hockey, she ran cross country, played tennis and even took up rowing. Kate is also an amazing skier, even better than Willis! Today she might be occupied with her royal duties, but in boarding school, she was quite the athlete.

8. Josh Duhamel: Football

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This guy even got into the Minot State University’s hall of fame. He was an amazing quarterback, following his father’s footsteps. The Transformers star also played basketball for the university for a year, but then decided to focus on his studies.

7. Justin Timberlake: Golf

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Since he was just 12, Justin started playing golf and he’s still playing. Well, that’s mostly because it’s a great place to be left alone: “There aren’t many places I can go where I don’t feel like I’m being watched. But the golf course is one of them. It’s my refuge. It’s where I get a chance to be alone in the world.”

6. Uzo Aduba: Track and Field

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Did you know that Aduba from Orange Is the New Black is a great runner? When she was in the track team at Boston College, she almost broke the speed records! Here’s another famous female athlete at #3.

5. Mark Harmon: Football

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Harmon was the quarterback for the UCLA Bruins football team for a year. He was inducted in the Pierce College Athletic Hall of Fame of 2010. You’ve definitely seen him in NCIS, Chicago Hope, and St. Elsewhere.

4. Jamie Foxx: Football

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The Oscar winner for Best Actor was also an amazing football quarterback at Terrell High School, in Texas. He was the first player in the history of the school that passed for more than 1,000 yards. He was so good he thought of playing for the Dallas Cowboys.

3. Geena Davis: Archery

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Geena Davis might have not made it in the Sydney 2000 Summer Olympics, as she was on the 24th place out of 300 women that tried out for the semifinals berth in the U.S. Olympic archery team. However, she participated in the Sydney International Golden Arrow competition.

2. Jason Lee: Skateboarding

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The comedy legend was once a professional skateboarder that made kick-flips and shove-its popular. Now he is the co-owner of Stereo Skateboards, a skateboard decks company. In the 90’s, Lee decided to start acting, and then got his lead role in a 1995 comedy – Mallrats.

1.Sheryl Crow: Track and Field

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Believe it or not, but Sheryl was not just “having a little fun” in high school. She was an All-State hurdler in Missouri and won medals in the 75-meter low hurdles. Lately, she’s been into tennis.

How many celebrities from this list stunned you with their athletic backgrounds? We were really impressed by Kate Middleton!